The Quarter Leads Revitalization

20 April 2005

With the opening of The
Quarter, the $280 million non-gaming expansion, Tropicana Casino and
Resort has taken the lead in the city’s revitalization. While the new
200,000- square-foot dining, shopping and entertainment complex literally
changes the city’s physical landscape, what’s inside will have a deeply
profound effect on how guests spend their time and money for years to
come. With a new generation of tourists and consumers who are interested
in gambling but want much more in a destination, the city’s resorts and
hotels are beginning to devise new options to attract today’s more
sophisticated and demanding travelers. Research conducted by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and
the Atlantic City Convention and Visitors Authority indicates that both
cities receive nearly 35 million visitors each year. By the same token,
both cities also produce comparable revenue from gambling each year. For
example in 2004, Atlantic City generated $4.5 billion in gaming, while Las
Vegas took in $6 billion. Due to Las Vegas’s amazing dining, shopping and
entertainment opportunities, guests spent over $27 billion dollars on
non-gaming activities, almost five times more than in Atlantic City.

More than eight years ago, the forward-thinking Tropicana executives
realized this and began formulating a plan to remain competitive in a
market that they believed was about to experience a similar head-to-toe
makeover as Las Vegas did over the last 10 years. They bet on guests
demanding more accommodations, upscale dining, A-list entertainment,
opulent spas and non- stop nightlife. The Quarter is an array of
non-gambling options that has kick started a renaissance in Atlantic City,
a significant first step as it undergoes the same seismic shift that
reshaped Las Vegas.

“There are millions of new visitors arriving in Atlantic City each year.
With The Quarter, we can give them something no other property in this
city can, diversity. Under one roof, we offer multiple restaurant options,
red-hot nightlife venues, extremely attractive retail and the area’s most
luxurious spa,” says Dennis C. Gomes, president of Resort Operations for
Aztar Corporation, Tropicana’s parent company. ——-